Photos: tormentor4555, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Unknown, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo credits
Photos: tormentor4555, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Unknown, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Old Town closes: the wynds behind the Royal Mile
Your local guide
Isla Fraser
View profile
Highlights
- A steep close off the Royal Mile
- A doorway lintel dated to the 1600s
- A stone stair spiralling upward
- The Castle framed at the top
- How a vertical neighbourhood worked
About this tour
This session drops down one of the Royal Mile's steep closes to a small courtyard below, the kind of route most visitors never take off the main street. You see tall tenements pressing in on both sides, a carved doorway lintel, and a stone stair spiralling up a building's side. Isla explains how these closes worked as whole vertical neighbourhoods.
The route runs downhill from the Royal Mile after a short sound check, with a pause at the doorway and another in the courtyard for questions. Isla answers as you go and sends a short map afterwards showing which closes are worth exploring.
It suits anyone who has already seen the main Royal Mile and wants the detail behind it. It also works well for those interested in how ordinary Edinburgh families once lived.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
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Welcome and sound check 5 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Edinburgh before heading out.
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Advocate's Close 21 min
The camera drops down a steep close lined with tall tenements, the Castle framed at the top of the view. Isla points out a doorway's carved lintel dated to the 1600s.
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A close-end courtyard 21 min
At the bottom, a small courtyard opens out between buildings, once home to several trades. Isla points out a stone stair spiralling up the side of one tenement.
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Your questions 9 min
Time to ask anything about Edinburgh: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
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A short list to keep 4 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Shortbread and Leith, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in London time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 10 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Edinburgh, showing you Advocate's Close and A close-end courtyard live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We meet on Google Meet; the link comes with your booking. I walk Edinburgh live with my phone. I hold steady on the steep bits.
Times shown in London time (GMT)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
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Next: Thu 5 Nov · 10 seats left From 21,00 €
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